Merle Dandridge Talks Reuniting With Ashley Johnson on ‘The Last of Us’ (VIDEO)
It’s been 10 years since The Last of Us was originally released, and since then, the series has hit the stratosphere in terms of success.
From the original game to the HBO series now garnering Emmys consideration, actress Merle Dandridge has been with the franchise every step of the way as the Firefly Marlene. She’s portrayed the character in three mediums: gaming, television, and a play, defining Marlene deeper in each iteration.
In the final episode of Season 1, the actress was also able to reunite with Ashley Johnson —who voices Ellie in the games — playing Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) mother as she gives birth. This added yet another layer to the character once it’s revealed Joey (Pedro Pascal) is delivering Ellie to her death, all according to Marlene’s plan to use her immunity to cure humanity of the fungal virus plaguing the world.
Dandridge talks about the success of HBO’s The Last of Us and reuniting with Johnson, and reflects on The Last of Us franchise after 10 years.
How do you feel about The Last of Us being a big Emmys contender, what with it being such a massive hit?
Merle Dandridge: I think the hope was that people would grab on and understand what heart and excellence and craft and love we put into it and the fact that it has been so wonderfully translated for the screen in a way that people catch it. They catch what we’re trying to lay down; they catch the heart and the core and the passion of it and the humanity of it and the fact that I think something that could have been written off as another video game adaptation or another zombie series, in fact, has transcended all of those things into something that is deeply heartfelt and meaningful and really cuts to the heart of who we are, what we want, what we’re fighting for, and what really matters.
What was it like coming in and working alongside Ashley Johnson during the final episode and ushering Ellie into the world in a new way?
Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of meta, right? And also the fact that I get to share the screen with a dear friend who loves this project as much, if not more, than I do. And we get to look one another in the eyes and not just in our [motion capture] suits in something that we know that’s going to be animated, [and] you get to see the way that Ashley and Merle look at each other and how [we have] over a decade of experience with these characters and how much we both love Ellie and how we brought her into the world in this way that is heartbreaking and beautiful.
It was extraordinary that Neil [Druckmann] and Craig [Mazin] had the thoughtfulness to put us in a position like that that they knew would be emotionally charged to begin with but that also would all be a wink and a hug to the fans who have abided with Ashley and I in these characters for so long that almost together, we can hold hands and be like, let’s bring our girl into this world.
Liane Hentscher/HBO
Outside of character dynamics, the thing that stays with audiences the most is the ending. How do you reflect on The Last of Us for 10 years and being involved with it the entire way through?
Well, first of all, thank you for your kind words about the ending. I think we were all in the same boat that we wanted to get it right. And for that, because we love the story and wanted to make sure that it was given service, we were all deeply committed to making sure that it — the tone, the look, the feel, everything — spoke in an authentic way that was right for the medium but also honored the source material very much. Now, to encapsulate 10 years of being a part of this franchise is… words can’t really offer what I feel about it. It is a deep-seated joy and satisfaction in my heart that I’ve made such wonderful friends along the way who have worked on this project, that the characters were given such great life because of their extraordinary gifting and artistry, to work with people of that caliber, and then to like them so much, that’s wonderful.
And then the fact that we get to share this story over the years in many different ways is fantastic. And now that we have had the great fortune of bringing it to the screen with HBO, bringing aboard a whole new host of artists that are astonishing in their craftsmanship, and that we’re able to link arms and just commune and talk about, again, what really is true and authentic, when we talk about who we love, and why and how meaningful and heartbreaking that can be, it’s been an extraordinary gift. [Laughs] I can’t really give you a firm answer. I could probably give you some really strong tears because it meant a lot. But in my soul, I have this — in the seat of my soul, a deep thank you for this gift.
Can we expect any extended scenes or deleted scenes involving Marlene when The Last of Us: The Complete First Season is released on DVD on July 18?
There’s a lot of content. I’m actually excited to see what ends up on the DVD bonus bits because there was a lot of material that was captured behind the scenes on the screen there. We’ll see. I’m excited. We got a lot of stuff.
The Last of Us, Season 2, TBA, HBO
